Tuesday, January 01, 2008

I REFUSE to raise ungrateful children aka Christmas Morning

The Scene: Christmas Morning at Chateau de la Francaise, Santa, who spent most of the night putting together Playmobil products, has arrived and delivered a bounty of toys for all, both big and small.

Santa has set up scenes all over the living room. Here pirates fight off Crocodiles... Enter the children, who are thrilled at Santa's arrival. However, remember the 2-9-9-9 Cars from my earlier post? Well, Mr. Boy doesn't see them under the tree, and grows increasingly more frustrated as he opens each gift. Promptly after this photo was taken, Mr. Boy threw his new Batman PJ's over his shoulder and proclaimed them "Stupid". Mr. Man & I looked at each other with a look oh "oh no he di'nt". With a flick of the wrist Mr. Boy is sent to Time Out. I know, I know.. Time out on Christmas? Oh yes indeed. Then we made him reopen his presents, be grateful, and say thank you after each one....Then, after he practiced and perfected Gracious Present Opening 101, we pulled out a gift from far under the tree. It was the 2-9-9-9 Cars he so desperately wanted. His excitement was contagious.Then there was AK, who kept getting mad at us for making her stop playing with her new toys and open more presents. She got a new baby, to replace her well loved baby who has a skidmark on her head from being dragged down the driveway every morning. We learned that you can not simply replace toys, you merely add to them. AK now drags two babies around. We should have opted for the double stroller.. AK also ripped the wrapping paper off in dime sized pieces, so Mr. Boy had to intervene in the interest of getting through the gifts prior to 2010. Also, random thought, for months we keep trying to have Mr. Boy get dressed before he comes out of his room in the morning... however, he didn't get the memo that Christmas is Exempt from that rule. So just pretend he is wearing matchy matchy red PJ's. Santa brought Mr. Man and I lots of good gifts for the Wii. Knowing that Santa was bringing us good gifts, we decided to do a $5 buck gift exchange between us. Mr. Man did not follow the rules, however, I did. Here he is opening up his Sponge Holder... yes... a Sponge Holder, you know for Kitchen Sponges. It sticks to the side of the kitchen sink. Here is a little known fact, I can NOT STAND Kitchen Sponges. Oooo how I hate them. What? I know you are shocked, that I loathe a product that is a haven for germs. If I see one in the bottom of the sink, I get a ziploc baggie, and turn it inside out like a glove, pick it up and seal it up, then I walk it out to the outside trash. I can not stand them. Anyhow, Mr. Man loves Sponges. So.. as a gift from the heart, a place for Mr. Man to keep his beloved sponges.

I can't help but look at this picture, and think.. huh.. what happened? Mr. Man and I picked five gifts for each child back in November. We went shopping togethere on a Hot Friday Night Date in November to avoid the "Christmas Eve shopping at Walgreens Fiasco of 2006". Looks like Mr. Man and I had a hard time sticking to our list. We really don't want to raise spoiled children, but this picture is Exhibit A in the fact that we are failing at our cause. Here is AK with her loot, however she's sitting on most of her gifts. Then the family arrived, and my brother and I with Mr. Boy in between us, all rocked on Guitar Hero.While my dad, who was hospitalized a few days after this pic was taken, snoozed with his favorite pal...And the cousins snuggled the other dog.

And if you made it to here in my posts, you win the "Reader of the Year" prize.

5 comments:

I am officially.....Reader of the Year!I loved all the pictures. The kids look so happy.I also have a question. If you hate sponges so much, what on earth do you use?You can microwave sponges every day for a minute or two. Kills all the germs. Really.

High five my sister in sponge hating!!! I know, you can microwave them to get rid of the germs, but I still can't stand them. I use a paper towel that I can throw away when I'm done with whatever I'm cleaning.

On thanksgiving my mom even brought her own brand new sponge, telling me, "If I'm going to do ANY dishes, I refuse to use a soapy paper towel!"

Oh I am so relieved I'm not the only one!!!! I feel so validated!

It looks like you all had an awesome Christmas! Can i come play with all of the playmobil stuff?!?!?

We worked on gracious present opening this year too. I explained "Say thank you even if you hate it or already have it. You can tell me anything you want about it later when we're alone." So far, so good, but I think it's more owing to my daughter maturing (seh's almost 8) rather than any brilliant or insightful parenting.

My husband loves sponges too, especially new ones. It's long been a joke between us--he thinks I use them too long, so he hops up and down with excitement when I break out a new one. And they've got to be Scotch Brite, not Chore Boy. He gets a few in his stocking every year.

Moi...

About Me

Parlez-vous du francais?

The Yes Project - For the year 2012, I have resolved to say YES! more often than No when opportunities arise and document where saying yes takes me this year. Please feel free to suggest some Yes-worthy activities.

Moi - That's me, the author, the mom, the wife, and the butt of all jokes. I love my blog and I love shoes more than one human should.

Mr. Man - He's the guy I married and adopted two beautiful babies with. I like him. He puts up with a lot of my hi-jinks and hilarity.

Mr. Boy - The Jr. Mr. Man aka my son. He is a BIG personality in a tiny body, who is happiest when being the leader of the pack. He is obnoxiously stubborn... just like his dad. (ahem.. and mom)

AK-47 - The little mademoiselle of the house. Mostly referred to as AK as to not promote violence on a daily basis. She has an intense imagination and is fiercely protective of her ice cream.

The Chalet - Our house in the hills of Los Angeles. A work in progress, that underwent a massive renovation in 2010-2011. It is our dream house and home to a herd 17 deer.